USA Today Bestseller!
Debut author Sally Thorne bursts on the scene with a hilarious and sexy workplace comedy all about that thin, fine line between hate and love.
Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.
2) A person’s undoing
3) Joshua Templeman
Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. … undoing
3) Joshua Templeman
Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.
Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.
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I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book! It was so fun, lighthearted and cute.
I have to say it was a bit slow at first, but then it was perfect. And I have to say I absolutely adored the height difference! It was super cute.
It was so well-written! The perfect enemies to lovers. And I connected so well with the characters, their issues, and their love story. I only wish there was more of them!
Was this the cutest book ever? Quite possibly, yes. Lucy and Josh are the very best of the enemies-to-lovers trope. Rivals for legitimate reasons + Career-driven protagonists + falling so hard I cried quite a few times = this book! Adorable yet sexy story!
Good character. Enemies to lovers trope.
Full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2799151896?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
I enjoyed this book.
I feel obligated to read before watching a movie or TV adaption. By and large, the book is better so I’m not sure why I feel this way.
The Hating Game has so many perfect quintessential enemies-to-lovers moments and the MC is so relatable. Lucy is ambitious and vindictive with a side of clumsiness and self-doubt. And Josh is that overly-cocky man that you can’t help love and roll your eyes at.
I’m overly-excited for the film to release and have been a fan of Lucy Hale for years. I hope it matches the beat and tempo of Sally’s work.
TW: language, steam
I loved The Hating Game so much when I finished it, I began it again. Before I’d gotten to the middle a second time, I ordered my paperback copy to cherish. My big two (If I’d Killed Him When I Met Him by Sharon McCrumb and The Rosie Project by Graham (I think)) are now a triumvirate.
I rarely re-read books. I stayed up all night reading it the first time. Slept for a few hours then reread it. About 18 months later I read it for the third time. Love this book.
I loved the interplay between the two main characters. Very entertaining.
*5 Stars*
I’ve heard so many good things about this book, and it had been sitting on my shelf for a while. Finally got a chance to read it, and boy did I love this!
This book was deliciously intense and I found myself feeling a bit angsty throughout it. There are a few things going on, with a competition at work and the intense feelings of hate (or something more?) between Lucy and Josh, it all keeps the reader on the edge of their seat waiting to see how things will play out.
I really liked getting to know more of these characters as the story progressed, particularly Josh, as he has a few layers to him. There were a couple of things I picked early on, and a few other things that were nice little surprises.
Really enjoyed this one and highly recommend.
Wow… What a writer. I’ve heard people say they liked this book but I never expected this. I just took a masterclass in how to paint with words.
This is not your average romance. Oftentimes we zip through romances because we want a quick no-brainer. We might even skim or skip to the good parts. In this case that would be such a big mistake. There are two separate but equally stunning aspects to appreciate in this book—the well constructed intricate story, and the superb writing style. Do yourself a favor and don’t rush through either of them.
This story is like slowly unfolding a bolt of cloth. Each turn of the roll reveals a little bit more of the fabric of Josh’s life story, and brings Lucy a little bit closer to understanding both Josh and herself. Josh has many secrets and Lucy slowly grows and adapts to each one as they trickle out. The pace is perfect and the rom/com genre suits it—creating stark contrast between the ridiculousness of where they start out and the intensity of where they end up. It’s childish vs. serious, big vs. small, nice vs. scary, secretive vs. clueless, hurtful vs. protective, love vs. hate. You know that their romance will always involve sparring with each other because that’s the dynamic that they like—someone who can challenge them and give as much as they get.
The dialogue between the Hero and the heroine is fun and quick-witted, but it’s Lucy’s inner musings where Ms. Thorne’s wordsmithing shines most. Her words can be simple, or clever, beautifully descriptive or woven into lyrical images that take your breath away. Many have already been mentioned in these reviews, but consider this one:
“I will eventually confess to myself why this montage means so much…the new knowledge of something irreversible, permanent. It cycled through my head with each revolution of the car’s wheels, each pulse of blood in my frail whisper-thin veins… I fall asleep, my cheek against the warm seat, my face turned toward him, like it always has been. Like it always will.”
There’s really nothing I can say that will do this reading experience justice. Only reading it yourself will make you fully understand. I compare the bittersweet comedy to Annika Martin’s Billionaire series, and the writing style on a par with Leah Raeder’s Unteachable. Give yourself a gift and take the time to really appreciate this rare gem in the romance genre.
I finished it and reread it again i loved it so much.
The Hating Game has been mentioned on Bookstagram since I joined. I’ve seen rave reviews and kept wanting to read it but for some reason, it kept getting pushed back. I finally decided I had to read it during my February romance readathon.
I’ll be honest, when I first started this book, I was worried it wasn’t going to live up to the hype. I was a little underwhelmed with the redundancy of their war and how much Lucy hated Joshua. BUT THEN…the elevator…and it kept getting better and better. Lucy and Joshua play games with each other and the games progress until it turns in to the ultimate game that Lucy really wants to win.
What I absolutely loved about this book was how Joshua keeps Lucy where he wants her until he decides. OMG, the build up!! The ending was ridiculously swoon-worthy. I can see why this is a favorite romance for so many readers and why Joshua is a top book boyfriend.
Before I read the book, I already knew the movie version had been filmed. Lucy Hale (who I adore) is playing Lucy Hutton, so I pictured her the entire time I was reading. I know the book is always better, but I’m really looking forward to the movie.
We fall in love with the heroine’s voice right from the get go- and then we fall in love, step by step, just like her, with her ‘hated’ yet totally hot colleague. Loved this book from start to finish.
One of the best enemies to lovers books I’ve ever read! So good!
The Hating Game is by far one of my personal favorites! The two characters are so different, but they create such an amazing love story. While most enemy-to-lover tropes tend to be relatively similar, this one was so original! The characters are well-written with entertaining backstories. This book is so sweet, I could not put it down.
Have you ever read a book and just didn’t know how you felt about it? That was me for about 80% of The Hating Game. *Warning…possible spoilers ahead. u2063
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I realize this may be a slightly unpopular opinion but I just wasn’t sure how I felt about Josh and Lucy and their relationship. The way they treated each other was just crappy, for lack of a better word. I also didn’t love Lucy’s personality or the way she let Josh walk all over her. u2063
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So what saved this book for me? One word – Josh. Once it clicked for me and I figured out he was in love with her, I put the pieces together of what he was trying to orchestrate, job and life-wise. He ended up to be very sweet in the end and even a little swoony, though one could also say creepy – hello paint color. Will he make my book boyfriend list? No. And yes, I know this is going to cause several people to yell at me. But he IS the reason this book got that 4th star. u2063
My second and now favorite Sally Thorne romance. Quick wit, slow burn, and electric sizzle all come together — if you love enemies-to-lovers workplace romance, this one’s for you. A movie adaptation is in the works and I, for one, can’t wait!
Do you change genres or do you always read the same?
I tend to mix it up a bit, I’ve been reading quite a lot High Fantasy lately and I needed something to cleanse.
So I picked up some fluffy romantic comedy that I had on my tbr for quite a while and it didn’t disappoint
The hating game is the kind of book I would pick to go to the beach. It was fun and fresh.
Lucy and Josh are hilarious. Those comebacks and the “I want you but I hate you” vibe had me glued to the book from the first chapter.
Lucy is a dorky psycho. Which is cute cause she’s chihuahua size. Josh is a sexy giant with zero social skills.
There’s great chemistry it’s sexy and I loved it. It was exactly what I needed right now.
1.5
I really, really wanted to like this.
I’m a fan of hate to love romances but I felt like the ‘hate’ going on was obnoxiously petty and immature and I didn’t care for the characters. Lucy was annoying and cringey and Josh is a complete twat.
Also a personal preference, but I like books to be somewhat believable and almost every incident was unrealistic, to the point of being absurd.
Overall, I felt like Lucy and Josh were more in lust than love and I could not get enthusiastic about it.
This witty, joyful enemies-to-lovers workplace romance is a modern romantic classic that (in my opinion) will one day enjoy the prestige of Pride and Prejudice and You’ve Got Mail. When I first had the pleasure of reading The Hating Game, I finished it and immediately read it a second time–something I never do. Do yourself a favor if you like witty dialogue, grumpy heroes with hearts of gold, and smart, capable, quirky heroines, and read The Hating Game immediately. You’re in for a treat.